It's Just Life
by quintupledots915
Summary: It hadn't been that long since they last spoke. Just a few weeks. Maybe closer to a month. Who am I kidding? It's been a few months. I never could have seen this coming. Warning! Drug and alcohol abuse
1. Chapter 1

Hospitals have never been comforting. Listening to the cries of patients and other families only makes others more upset. Which is exactly what was happening to me.

The chairs were highly uncomfortable as I awaited any news. Any at all. Getting a phone call like that at two in the morning was awful. They had only spoken a few weeks ago. Closer to a month really. Maybe two. My sudden lack of knowledge at the last time we actually spoke frightened me.

If only my parents were here too; I wouldn't feel so alone in this big place. I felt so small, like the chair was consuming me from the outside and I was becoming one with the chair. Every agonizing minute only made that feeling stronger.

"Anderson?" I jumped up and quickly made my way over to the man calling my name. He was definitely in his fifties or sixties, judging by hair loss and the grey in his hair. He wore rectangular glasses that didn't compliment his face quite right. It was almost like he was trying to make himself look younger. If that was the case, it truly wasn't helping his cause.

My wandering thoughts were brought back to the matter at hand as I took in all the information being fed to me. Car accident. Still unconscious. Lacerations on his face. Two broken ribs and broken arm. Suspected DWI. Person in the other car in surgery. Possible drug abuse.

I had to sit when all of the information finally pooled to the front of my brain. My limbs felt heavy with dread, fear, and sorrow. I hadn't even tried contacting him in so long, and this is what happens. His whole life gets thrown upside-down and I don't even know the cause of it.

"Would you like to see him?"

Such a simple question. Do I want to see him hooked up to various machines, arm in a cast, cuts all over his face? Can I face him knowing he nearly killed the other person? Knowing that he has sunken so low that he would start drinking and doing drugs?

"Yes"

My voice was quieter than I expected. I got up and followed the doctor to his room. Every footstep echoing in the rather silent hallway. I knew this wasn't normal. The other times I had been in the hospital, it was always loud in the hallways, even at nearly four in the morning. It did nothing to prepare me for what was to come. It only made me more worried.

"He's in there. He has a tube down his throat helping him to breath, so be prepared. If you need anything, I'll be right outside. I'll give you a moment."

I walked in and closed the door behind me. Taking a deep breath, I slowly turned around and nearly collapsed where I was standing. Whatever I had been imagining in my head didn't compare to what was in front of me.

A ventilator and heart monitor were making steady beats in the otherwise silent room. An IV was coming out of his uninjured arm. His face was pale, which made the cuts stick out that much more. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, even though he was sleeping now.

I slowly made my way over to the bed. His hand looked limp and lifeless, which terrified me. I knew he was still alive, the heart monitor told me that much. Upon closer inspection, his face looked worse. The angry red lacerations stood out too much against his too pale face.

I took hold of his hand and gave a small squeeze. "Coop? Can you hear me?"

I didn't expect a response, but for some reason, it only made my chest feel even heavier. Knowing that he is right in front of me, but not responding.

"I don't know what happened to you. I didn't try to find out. I only wanted you to make the effort of contacting me. I was selfish and now..." My voice came out in a whisper.

Something warm hit my hand. I looked down and was confused to see something wet there. At least, until I noticed the tears falling down my face. I stood in shock at first, but only for a moment. A whimper came from my mouth that quickly turned into all out sobs.

"I-I can't b-believe you would d-do this! You could have died! O-Or killed someone else! C-Cooper..." My knees soon gave out and I was left to kneel on the ground, willing the tears to go away.

There was a vibration in my left pocket. I pulled my phone out with one hand, while wiping at my eyes with the other. I looked at the screen and felt another wave of tears hit. I couldn't answer him right know, not when we where only just getting back on good terms. Why would he even call this early? My mind told me to just ignore it, but my hand didn't listen to my mind.

"Blaine? I had this terrible dream and I had to call. I was just being silly, but I got scared and we always used to ca- Blaine? Are you crying? What's wrong?"

"Blaine, please answer, you're scaring me. Blaine!"

"K-Kurt... h-he's in the hospital. Car accident."

"Blaine, you aren't making much sense. Who are you talking about?"

"C-Cooper."

Silence.

"Oh my God. Blaine, I'm getting a flight right now, I'll be there in a couple of hours, okay?"

"No, Kurt, you don't have th-" "My dad gave me an emergency credit card, and I'd classify this as an emergency."

My crying intensified, which stopped Kurt in whatever he was doing, which was presumably changing. "Blaine, it'll be okay. Shhh, it'll be okay."

"He was on drugs and drinking Kurt! Cooper! He always hated that stuff! He always advocated against all of it! What would make him do any of that?"

There was more silence, save for my sniffling. Then, "Blaine, I wish I could answer you. I really do. But I can't. I'm sorry, but I can't."

I nodded. I already knew he couldn't answer. I just needed to understand. I needed that more than anything right now.

"I'm going to go book a flight, okay? I'm assuming you are at Lima General?"

"Yes"

"Okay, I'll meet you there. I lov- I'll see you there," he said, his mistake obvious in his voice. My heart felt heavy after that conversation, but not as heavy as before. I stood up and looked at his face one more time before I wiped my eyes again and left. It was going to be a very long morning.

When I called my mom, I got a voice mail saying she was currently in Guatemala for vacation and would not be using her phone until the end of the month. When I called my father, his secretary said he left for a conference in California the day before. She sounded surprised that I was unaware of this.

I never knew where my parents were. My father told me to call his office if I needed something because he didn't need his cell phone having a hundred voice mails of useless information. My mother was almost always on vacations because of her position at her work place. She only gave me one of her cell phone numbers. The one she brought everywhere, but never looked at. I love them both, but the gap between me and my parent's always makes me question whether or not that love was real.

I was back in the waiting room because they needed to check on Cooper again. The amount of crying families had grown since I was last in here. It was now seven in the morning. If it was a normal day, I would be eating breakfast right now. I would have already changed and slicked my hair back.

Self-consciously, my hand went up to my hair. It was coming out of the little gel that was in it, but wasn't as crazy as normal. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding and I went back to my morning routine. After eating, I would go brush and floss my teeth, leaving them feeling very refreshed. I would then put on just a bit of make-up (at Kurt's insistence) under my eyes to help the bags go away.

I would then go feed my cat, Izzie, and leave to drive to school. Normally, I was early, so I would sit in the parking lot for a few minutes, making sure my hair was alright, before getting out of my car and going inside. My locker was my first stop of the day, which led straight to Pre-Calculus/Calculus. My parents insisted I take all college classes, but I only took Calculus and English 101. I wasn't interested in taking too many college classes, and with my desired profession, they weren't necessary.

Kurt picked on me at first, telling me I was insane for taking any college classes. He soon realized that the college classes were more like Dalton's education, which I had excelled at.

A hand on my shoulder startled me. I looked up and my mouth nearly dropped in shock.

"Kurt called me. He was afraid I might've been in D.C., but that's not until next week. Thought you might want someone to talk to until he gets here," said Burt, a small smile on his face that was laced with concern. I looked away, not wanting to cry again, even though I felt the prickling behind my eyelids.

"Thank you, but you didn-"

"Of course I did. I see you as part of the family, remember? I will come if you need me to, no matter what."

More prickling. It is a lot harder to keep tears at bay when you are exhausted and scared. I'm pretty sure he saw my face because I felt arms lock around me in a very warm hug. I couldn't hold them in any longer and tears spilled out of my eyes onto Burt's jacket. It was not nearly as intense as before, but it was for a different reason. The last time I had felt this kind of love from another person was from Kurt. I didn't feel quite so alone, if even only for a moment.

I'm not really sure what time it was anymore. I didn't feel like checking my phone like I had been. It only seemed to make the time go by slower. Burt was getting a coffee, which I kindly declined when he offered to get me some.

My fear factor kept increasing when no one had come to talk to me about Cooper, like if anything had changed. Something could've happened. Maybe he stopped breathing and they were trying to get him back to the world. Maybe he slipped into a coma and they are trying to figure out why he's not responding to stimuli. Maybe he's in surgery because of a complication they didn't see before. Maybe-

"Mr. Anderson?"

I looked up and saw the doctor from before. I was instantly on my feet and asking, "Is he okay? Did something happen? Is he dead?"

"No, he is very much still alive. He woke up a little while ago. We took the tube out of his throat because he is breathing on his own now. He is very disoriented and is having some trouble remembering what happened, probably due to what I told you about earlier," he said.

Internally, I was conflicted. Part of me was overjoyed that he was awake and not dead. Part of me was terrified for when he did remember what happened and having to talk to him about it. There was no way I was ready to do something like that.

"If you want to go see him, you know where his room is."

I let out a deep breath and decided it was best to go. As soon as my foot took a step forward, I saw Kurt coming towards me. He looked tired, but beautiful as usual. The corners of my mouth moved upwards, which felt foreign on my face. Kurt said nothing when he made it to me and proceeded to give me a hug. It wasn't a purely comforting hug, like Burt's had been. It was so light and held so much emotion that I couldn't help but give an equal amount back. It felt so amazing to be back in his arms. I melted into the hug, resting my face on his shoulder. We stood this way for a moment until I pulled back.

Burt happened to come back right after we had stopped hugging. He smiled before hugging Kurt and giving him one of three coffees he held. I smiled a bit more when I realized I could definitely use it. The crying and not sleeping had taken its toll on how tired I was.

"Kurt, I've got to get to work now. I would've just called in if it were for the tire shop. I'll see you later, alright?" Burt turned to me and after handing me my coffee, he said, "And Blaine? Don't be afraid to come over tonight and spend the night. I'd rather you weren't either here all night or at your house all alone, alright?"

I nodded, forgetting how amazing it felt to have a real family.

"He's awake."

Kurt nodded and asked, "Are you going to go see him?"

I sighed, which confused Kurt.

"I don't know if I can face him without either crying or strangling him. He looked so... broken earlier, so I didn't focus on how angering his actions made me. He's my brother and I can't... I can't see him like that," I said, understanding blooming in Kurt's face.

"He probably felt the same way when he saw you in the hospital after the dance."

My jaw clenched. I had forgotten about that. I obviously didn't forget about the dance and what happened, but I forgot that Cooper saw me in a hospital bed unconscious for days. He must've felt what I'm feeling right now. He was there when I woke up. He cried for hours that day, so happy that I was awake and not in a coma like the doctors feared. He was there everyday he could be. But this wasn't the same.

Cooper really messed up. It wasn't quite the same as before. But I had to see him. I had to be there for him and get him help when he was finally ready to receive the help. I had to help him through all of this.

"Let's go."


	2. Chapter 2

Every step echoed in the hallway, which seemed to be shrinking the closer we got to the room we desired. I felt as though I was suffocating, slowly being pushed underwater. I took a deep breath, reminding myself that I wasn't drowning, that I wasn't being suffocated by anything.

The familiar presence beside me comforted me, making the trip seem just a bit easier, even if I couldn't lean on him the same way I used to.

When we got to his room, I had to pause. I couldn't step into the room until I cleared my head, pushing away all of my emotions. Kurt made no movement to get me to hurry up, understanding that I needed a moment. I took a deep breath and put my hand on the door handle, twisting it to open the door.

"I'll wait out here," Kurt whispered in my ear. I wanted nothing more than to bring him in with me, but it couldn't happen. Maybe if I hadn't screwed up so badly...

I nodded, pushing the door open and walking inside. I closed the door behind me, wanting to waste the time before I new I had to see the person on the bed. Unfortunately, that did not last as long as I had hoped it would.

"Blaine? That you?" I swallowed and turned around. Cooper was blinking heavily as he took in my expression and appearance. I swallowed again and slowly made my way to the bed.

"Hey, Coop."

"Blaine, what happened? Nothin' makes sense. Why am I here? We in Lima?" He looked thoroughly confused, which caused my heart to clench slightly.

"You were in a car accident and yeah, we're in Lima," I said, my voice surprisingly more cooperative than I first thought it would be.

"Where's Bill? He got the next bag for me. I really need it, Blaine." My breath suddenly disappeared from my body. I shut my eyes and looked away, willing my body to not start crying.

When I looked back, I only saw big, blue eyes staring at me. They looked too familiar, so I looked away again.

"Blainey, please, where's Bill? I had to meet him at noon. He's got it and I ran out."

"..."

"I know, you can go get it!" My eyes widened, not believing what I was hearing, "He should be near the Li-"

"Cooper, what happened?" I looked at him, to which I only got a blank stare back, which morphed back into confusion.

"What're you talking about? I don't remember what happened, that's why I asked you!" I shook my head and said, "No, Cooper, not the accident. What happened to you? Why are you doing... why are you doing drugs?"

It was Cooper's turn to look away. He looked a little ashamed, but I could tell he was going to come back with something completely different than that.

"You abandoned me when I needed you the most! I tried to talk to you, or mom, or even dad, but none of you listened. You didn't even answer the phone!" My mouth hung open, disbelief flooding my body.

"You never called me, I know that for sure! I'm not sure about mom or dad, but you never once tried to call me!" I felt the anger I was pushing back come rushing to the forefront of my emotions.

Cooper only grew angrier. "I called you to tell you I lost the acting job on the commercial and I couldn't get another job anywhere! I called you to get some comfort, but you wouldn't answer! I found myself on the streets after I ran out of money when Bill found me and helped me! You wouldn't answer, so where else was I supposed to go?!"

Enraged, I took a step towards the bed and yelled, "You must have been so high off your mind that you don't remember that you never called me! And why didn't you just come back home?! Mom and dad would've loved to have you back and probably would've given you everything you needed to start over, but instead, you go and buy drugs from some sick freak who probably preys on guys your age! Why would you-"

Cooper was suddenly trying to force himself off the bed to launch himself at me, but he only ended up screaming in pain. All the anger was gone and I was trying to help him, while saying sorry over and over. It didn't take long for a few nurses to come in and sedate him. I was asked to leave, being forcefully pushed out of the room while they checked his injuries.

I was staring at a closed door, nearly a minute after everything happened. I backed up and slid down the wall, putting my face in my hands. A sob ripped out of my body. I was soon followed by more.

I felt so guilty for yelling at Cooper. It wasn't time for that, and I probably just hurt him more. I jumped when two arms wrapped themselves around me. I knew who it was without looking and settled myself into their grasp, letting my emotions take over.

* * *

Around three was when Cooper woke up again. He was slightly more aware of his surroundings, but he was still not a hundred percent. My mother had called me, reprimanding me for leaving a voice mail on her cell phone until I told her what happened. Her entire demeanor changed and she said she was coming back early and to fill her in on everything when she got there.

Kurt had left to get some lunch for us, ignoring my lack of wanting to eat, and came back with some homemade mac and cheese that Carole had made for us. I ate in silence, not really taking in the amazing taste that was Carole's cooking.

When a nurse came telling us Cooper was awake again, I merely nodded.

"Do you want to go see him?" Kurt asked rather nervously.

I shrugged.

Kurt sat down next to me and tried to read my expression. As always, he knew what I was thinking. "I'll go with you if you want."

I nodded and we made our way back to the room again. This time, Kurt opened the door and went in first. Cooper got a wide smile when he saw who it was.

"Kurt! It's so great to see you again!" I internally flinched when I remembered he didn't know what happened between me and Kurt.

"It's great to see you too, Cooper. I was really sad when I found out you weren't doing those commercials anymore, they were always the highlight of my day," Kurt said as we moved two chairs by the bed and took our seats. Cooper smiled again, but it didn't even come close to meeting his eyes.

"Yeah, it was hard. I really liked those, and they got so popular. But, that's what happens in Hollywood, everything goes out of fashion at one time or another." Cooper glanced at me before staring at his blanket.

Kurt quickly changed the subject and we sat around without incident for at least half an hour. Then, the shaking started. Kurt and I ignored it, but it soon started to become hard to ignore. Especially when two buckets could have been filled with the amount of sweat pouring off Cooper's body.

We glanced at each other and mutually decided it would be best to leave before it got violent.

"Where are they?"

We both looked at Cooper, not having any clue what he was talking about. He looked up at me and repeated in a louder voice, "Where are they?"

I cleared my throat and asked, "Where are what, Coop?"

"My drugs. I know you have them. I don't know why you won't give them to me." I stiffened, wishing that it didn't have to be that.

"GIVE THEM TO ME!" Kurt grabbed my arm and pulled me out, shutting the door behind us. A nurse stopped by, asking us what was wrong. Kurt explained and she went straight in. My legs felt like they were about to give out from under me. If Kurt weren't there, I'm not sure how I would have made it back to the waiting room.

We sat for a moment while I regained coherent thought and motor function before Kurt asked, "Do you just want to go to my house? We don't have to wait around."

I was ready to leave, but then remembered something. "My mom's on her way."

Kurt smiled and laughed before saying, "Blaine, she's not going to be here until tomorrow most likely. And she can call you when she gets in, you have no reason to stay here when you need sleep."

I nodded and we made our way out the doors. The fresh air was extremely refreshing compared to the stale hospital air, but I couldn't appreciate it the same as normal. Not when there was so much on my mind that I couldn't even appreciate the little things.

Finn and Carole were both at the Hudson-Hummel's when we arrived. Carole wasted no time in giving me a big hug and telling me I could stay there as long as I needed to. Finn gave me an awkward hug that I hadn't been expecting, but appreciated nonetheless.

Kurt, Finn, and I were all watching a movie, which I hadn't paid any attention to. I wasn't even really sure what movie was playing. I was sitting on the couch, Kurt sitting next to me, almost as though nothing had ever happened. It could've been a normal Friday night at the Hudson-Hummel's, but I knew none of it was the same.

"So, Kurt, how's New York?" Carole asked, swooping in out of no where. Kurt smiled and said, "Well, it's just as busy as ever. It's been so amazing to be going to NYADA. The classes have been hard, but it's more than I ever dreamed of. Isabelle was sad to see me not working as much, but she was ecstatic when I told her."

I zoned out of the conversation, not particularly wanting to hear about all the perfection in Kurt's life. Mentally, I slapped myself at the thought. Kurt's like was nowhere near perfection, I had seen to that. I ended up excusing myself to the bathroom and stared at my reflection for a number of minutes.

My hair was wild, bags highly pronounced underneath my eyes. Even though it hadn't even been a full day, it felt like a week had just passed. I took some water in an attempt to tame some of my hair, which only worked a small amount.

Knock. Knock. "Blaine, are you alright? You've been in there a while."

"Yeah, I'm coming out now."

Kurt's face was full of worry, even after I walked out of the bathroom. He made the movement to grab my hand, but thought better of it. I averted my eyes all though out dinner, which proved difficult, since I was sitting across from him.

This was the first Friday night dinner I had gone to that was quiet. An occasional conversation was attempted, but died out rather quickly. I picked through my plate, which was a delicious meal of ham with mashed potatoes, corn, and peas. By the end of dinner, I had hardly eaten a quarter of my plate. I just wasn't hungry.

"Blaine, are you sure you're done? I can wrap it up in case you want some more later," asked Carole, her eyes showing the worry that she felt.

"Yeah, that would be nice, thank you Carole," I responded, a small smile gracing my mouth. It felt so foreign that it was gone seconds later.

I offered to help clean up, but was shoved out of the kitchen, saying I was the guest and did not need to. I sat on the couch for a while, but ended up going outside and sitting on the porch instead. It was already dark, with the stars peeking out from behind the clouds.

I shuddered from the cold, but made no movement to go grab my coat. I vaguely heard the door open and felt someone sit next to me.

We stayed like this for a while, before Kurt noticed my shivers and forced us to go back inside. Carole made a bed for me on the couch after we watched a movie. Everyone dispersed and made there way to bed, leaving me on the couch. My overactive mind would not shut off, so I knew sleep was out of the question. I wasn't expecting Kurt to come back downstairs and ask me if I wanted to talk.

"Please, Blaine. I need to know what you're feeling. I can guess at some of you're feelings, but not all of them." I swallowed and shifted.

"Kurt... I'm scared."

Kurt's breath hitched, the sound making me want to cry. He instantly moved closer and wrapped his arms around me. I melted yet again into his grasp. I felt so safe there, if even for only a moment.

"Can I tell you a secret?" I nodded, looking at Kurt. "I'm scared too."

"I'm scared of what might happen to Cooper and to you. I'm scared that you are too alone. I'm scared of what might have happened if I never came back. I'm scared of losing you to something that I can't control, or even to something I can. I'm scared that if I help you now, you won't stay. I'm scared that you could do the same thing that happened to Cooper, an-"

I pulled away from Kurt and looked him straight in the eye. "I will _never_ do something like that. I will never take drugs or let alcohol rule my life. Now that I've seen first hand what it can do, there's definitely no way I would ever do that. Trust me, I can never do that."

Kurt let a small smile grace his lips before he said, "Blaine, I miss you so much. I can't stand being away from you any longer, it hurts too much. I have never stopped loving you, even after what you did, and seeing you hurt like this..."

I felt tears spring to my eyes, but I pushed them back. "Kurt..."

"Blaine." He leaned forward and put his lips onto mine. It felt magical enough to be my first kiss all over again. For a moment, all of the thoughts spinning through my head disappeared, and all that was left was how amazing it felt to be with Kurt again.

By the time he pulled back, my heart felt a hundred times lighter. I smiled the first real smile in nearly a day. Maybe, I thought, maybe I could do this. Maybe everything would work out in the end. Maybe Cooper will be fine and back to his dramatic ways. Maybe...


	3. Chapter 3

I hadn't really thought about Cooper's release until that day came. After filling out the necessary paperwork, I went back to his room. He was still agitated and asked for his drugs back, but it was becoming less often. I was given a number of programs to look into, but was terrified of actually telling Coop about them.

My mom had come in the day before, practically sobbing and demanding to see him. She spent at least an hour in there while I sat outside, waiting for an outburst. Surprisingly, none came, and when she did eventually come out, she seemed much happier. When I tried to talk to her about getting him some help, she said no.

"We can help him, no problem. He doesn't need to be put into some program with a bunch of terrible people. He just needs to be home with us and he'll be better in no time." I tried to protest, but I knew my efforts would be in vain.

Kurt had come by a few more times, but he knew his time here was coming to an end. He could only put off New York and everything in it for so long. It was nice having him here. We hadn't really talked about the other night and what it meant, but Kurt hadn't pulled away like I originally believed he would.

My mom was waiting by Cooper's side when I entered. She had a smile plastered on her face, but Cooper looked miserable. "Blaine, good, you finished the paperwork. Come on, Cooper, it's time to go home and get better."

A nurse came in, telling him he had to stay in the wheelchair, as hospital policy. He did not acknowledge anything she had just said. In fact, he stayed silent throughout the ride home. My mom chattered on and on about how wonderful her trip was and how she couldn't wait to show Cooper the souvenirs she got and how his room was all ready for him. It was beginning to give me a headache by the time we pulled into the driveway.

"Alright, Coopy, let us help you into the- Cooper, wait, you have to let us help you inside! You are still injured!" Cooper ignored my mother and went inside without any problem. My mother hurriedly followed him and left me to close the car door. I sighed and made my way inside.

From the yelling going on upstairs, it seemed he had locked himself in his room, something my mom never tolerated. It was sort of her fault for letting us have locks on our doors.

"Cooper, you need to come out here right now! You need to come downstairs and rest on the couch where I can keep an eye on you!"

I wanted to go up there and help, but at the same time, I knew it would be easier to wait until my mother decided to give up and come downstairs. Unsurprisingly, that only took a few minutes.

"That boy does not know what is good and bad for him, I swear," she muttered as she busied herself in the kitchen. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes by going upstairs myself. I paused outside of Cooper's door, debating whether I wanted to say something or not. I chose to just go into my room, locking that door as well.

I laid down on my bed, letting my thoughts take over. All of them were about Cooper. I was still terrified. Terrified he would just disappear and we would find him in a ditch somewhere. My thoughts drifted to a nightmare I had the night before, where that exact thing happened. I shook my head, effectively pushing the images from the front of my mind.

I could hear the water running and guessed Cooper was taking a shower. I hoped he remembered to put a bag over his arm. I rolled over to my side and stared at the pictures of Kurt that I had. It was sort of a shrine to him. I knew it was creepy, but it was comforting to wake up to.

A vibration came from my pocket. I pulled out my phone and saw that Kurt was calling. A smile found its way onto my face as I answered.

"Hey, Kurt."

_"Hey. How's the first day going so far?"_

"Well, my mom so far has done what I predicted. She talked his ear off, tried to get him to come out of his room, gave up quickly, and started cooking. Cooper is not doing anything I would expect him to. He's just so... different." I sighed, willing this sinking feeling to go away, but knowing it won't.

_"I really wish I could be there, but I have to start packing, otherwise I'll never leave."_

I swallowed away the lump that appeared in my throat. I wasn't ready for him to leave. He pulled me back to earth when I was floating out in space. When he leaves, I'll be back in space. Even with Sam and Tina here, they aren't enough to keep me grounded.

_"Blaine? You alright?"_ It would be so easy to beg him to stay, but I knew I had to let him go.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just going to miss you."

_"I'm going to miss you too. Just think of it this way, graduation's coming up soon, right? Then you can leave and go wherever you want. Whether it's New York or anywhere else."_

"Yeah. I hope to go to New York, if it's not too weird. I know we talked about it at Christmas, but I want to make sure."

_"Of course it's fine. When you do come, I'm sure we can squeeze you into this little apartment we call our home."_ I smiled, glad of that promise.

"That should be fun. Me, you, Rachel, and Santana, that'll be something to remember."

A laugh came from the other end of the phone, making my smile grow. I was truly excited for the prospect of being with Kurt in New York, being able to forget about Lima and Westerville, at least for a while. My thoughts came back to the reality that my brother needed me right now, and my excitement dissipated.

_"I should get going. I hope I can see you again before I leave. My plane leaves tomorrow at three."_

"I should be able to get away for a minute. I'll see you tomorrow then."

_"Alright, see you then."_

"Yeah."

I hung up and put my phone down. I noticed that the water was off and decided to go and try to talk to Cooper, my heart knowing it wouldn't do much good.

I stood outside his door, not really knowing what to say. I eventually just sat next to the door, back against the wall. I tried to pull words out of my head, but they just wouldn't come.

"Are you just going to sit there and not say anything, little brother?"

I jumped and looked up, seeing Cooper's head poking out of the door. He didn't look any better than he had the day before, bags still prominent under his eyes.

He motioned me to come into his room, something I hadn't done in years. Even when he visited the year before, I hadn't gone into his room.

It was almost identical to the way I remembered it. There were old rock posters on the walls, which were a dark green. His desk was still cluttered, even though he hadn't been here in a long time. The window that was opposite the door still had stickers from a concert he had gone to in high school.

"You can sit, you know. I'm not going to bite. The drugs didn't make me a cannibal." I didn't find the joke funny, and from the look on Cooper's face told me he hadn't either. I sat on his desk chair while he sat on his bed, after shutting and locking the door.

A flood of emotions flooded into my body. I wasn't sure which one to grasp, so I settled on just ignoring them and focusing on Cooper. He had shaved when he went in to take a shower. It took a few years off of him, something I used to tease him about. He was wearing the same jacket he came in last year, though it looked more worn than it had been.

"So, was there anything in particular you wanted to talk to me about, or were you just going to sit outside my door to make sure I didn't try to run away." I shrugged.

"I wasn't being your guard and I couldn't think of anything to say. Otherwise I would've said something earlier." He nodded, understanding what I was saying.

"I saw those pamphlets about the programs I could go to, they were sticking out of your bag." I stiffened, wishing I didn't have to have this conversation yet. It had only been a week or so of him being off of heroine, so he was still unpredictable.

"I want to go to the one in Columbus. It looks like a really nice facility. I guess you have to be clean for at least three weeks before going in, just so they know you are really willing to get clean, so I won't be exposed to that many people who still use." My shock must have been big enough that Cooper could sense it, because he half smiled.

"What? Did you think I would let mom baby me and try to fix me herself? I'm not putting up with that." I felt like crying, but for once, it was happy tears. He wasn't resisting like I thought he would. A part of me was telling me to not get my hopes up, because he still could go back, but I was letting my happiness fill me.

"I'm really glad you want to get better." My smile wavered as I remembered something. "I'm really sorry about not answering your calls. I looked it up and you did call me. I feel like such an asshole for not picking up the phone. I was so caught up in everything else that I couldn't even answer the phone for my own brother. And you really needed me. I'm really sorry."

"Hey, none of that. I shouldn't have blamed you so much for not answering. Burt told me everything. Which reminds me, we are going to have to have a talk about that sometime." My mouth grew a bit dry, not really wanting to talk about how much I screwed up the beginning of the school year.

"Look, Coop, if you need to talk about anything, and I mean anything, my door is always open." A small smile formed on his face and he got up to give me a big hug.

"Thanks, Blaine. For everything. And I'm sorry for being such an asshole in the hospital, you didn't deserve it." We hugged for what felt like an eternity, but I was glad to have Cooper back. He wasn't the same, but he was healing, and that was more than I could ever ask for.

* * *

"Mom? We need to talk to you about something." My mother looked up from her cooking and saw Cooper and I standing in the doorway. She looked ecstatic that Cooper was out of his room.

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm so glad you're out of that room! I made you some of your favorite food and I just knew that you'd come downstairs once you smelled it." I sighed, wishing she would just stop for a second and see what was going on around her. She had become too accustomed to the bubble that was her head.

"I'm really not that hungry, mom. Listen, me and Blaine here need to talk to you. So sit down and stop cooking." I winced at the harsh tone behind what he said, but my mom was none the wiser.

"Of course, honey." She sat down, motioning for us to follow her lead. "What is it you need to tell me?"

I swallowed and said, "Mom, Cooper wants to go to the rehab center in Columbus. He doesn't want to stay home and hope he gets better, he wants professional help."

"Oh, don't worry, Cooper will be well taken care of here at home. You'll be better in no time, Cooper." It was just like normal, she only half heard what I said. I looked helplessly at Cooper and he took over.

"No, mom. I want to go to the program in Columbus. I'll only be gone for a few months. I want professional help. I wish I had never done any of this, but I know that I need to get better. No offense, but sitting here at home won't help me get better." My mom looked betrayed.

"But sweety, I can take better care of you than those people at those centers! They don't know how to treat you like anything but disgusting creatures that don't know how to hold their life together without something pumping through their systems."

Silence filled the room, tension becoming evident. My mother had not just actually said that, had she? There was no way she actually just said that to her son.

"I do know how to make that better, though. You'll be as good as new in no time, Coopy!" Was she really that oblivious to her recent comment? She never acted like this. That's when I saw the disgust in her eyes. I had only seen that look once before, and that was when I came out.

"If that's how you really feel, then I'll just leave now."

It was my mother's turn to have a look of shock on her face. She had no idea what was wrong. Cooper stood up abruptly and walked out. I jumped up and followed him upstairs and into his room, where he was putting the few things he took out of his bag right back in.

"Cooper, wait. Please stop!"

"How can I stop when my own mother thinks I'm disgusting?" He looked at me. It was the first time I had seen him cry. There were tears getting ready to fall down his face. He blinked and they spilled down his face. He angrily looked away and shoved his phone in his pocket.

"Go to the Hummels. They're amazing people and will definitely let you stay there until you go to the center." Cooper paused before wiping his face on his sleeve. He looked at me again.

"I can't put something like this on their shoulders. I'm just a screw up that shouldn't deserve amazing people like you and Burt in my life." I shook my head.

"Coop, you definitely deserve amazing people in your life. Everyone does, whether they're screw ups or not. They are the people who tell us we are supposed to be here, that are lives have meanings. Without them, we won't feel like we belong." My words got to him, but he just shook his head. Maybe this was deeper than I thought.

"I can't be a burden. I need to deal with this on my own. I got myself into this mess and I need to get myself out. I can't depend on other people."

"You aren't depending on us! We are just trying to help you! We want what's best for you. And you need to be able to lean on us if you need to. You need to know when you can't fight something by yourself. That's when we'll be here to help." He dropped his bag and drew me into another hug, but this one had tears accompanying it.

We stood there for a while, his tears soaking my shirt, but I didn't care. I just wanted to show him he didn't need to go through this on his own. I pushed all of my love into his body, needing him to believe he needed me. That he needed people who loved him. Even though Burt hardly knew him, his heart was big enough to take in another son.

When his tears started to subside, we sat on the bed. When his tears stopped altogether, we laid down on the bed. He just needed someone to be with him, to help him, and that's what I planned to do.

We must have fallen asleep, because when I woke up, it was seven in the morning and Cooper's broken arm was on my back. I wiggled my way out from under his arm and pulled my phone out, going into my bedroom.

_"Hello? Blaine?" _

"Mr. Hummel, sorry to call so early. I was wondering if you could do something for me."

_"What do you need?"_

"I was wondering if you could take Cooper in for a couple of weeks until he goes to a rehab center in Columbus. He really can't stay here any longer. My mom said something, and he really doesn't want to stay."

_"Of course we can. I'm sure we can make room for both of you, if you want."_

"Oh, no, that would be way too much trouble. I don't want to overcrowd your house."

_"Please, Blaine, our house has plenty of room for both of you. You can go back home once Cooper leaves. Finn doesn't live with us anymore, he got his own apartment, and Sam spends most of his nights there now. We have the room. Kurt's leaving this afternoon, so that makes even more room."_

I really wanted to refuse his offer, but I was so glad that he would let us stay together. Cooper needed as many people around him as possible. "Thank you, sir."

_"How many times do I have to tell you? It's Burt, Blaine."_

"Right. Thank you, Burt."

_"You're welcome. Now, hurry up and get over here. I know you're going to want to see Kurt off."_

"I'll see you soon, then."

_"See you then, Blaine."_

I hung up and instantly began to pack some clothes. I dropped my three tubes of gel in there along with all of my bathroom things. I looked at my pictures of Kurt and decided to take one with me, along with the Margaret Thatcher dog.

After making sure everything was set, I went in and woke Cooper up. He was slightly annoyed, but when I told him the good news, he smiled the first real smile I had seen on him in months.

"Thank you, Blaine."

"Of course, Coop."


	4. Chapter 4

Burt and Carol fussed over Cooper to the nth degree. Everything he needed, they gave him. Within reason, of course. They gave him Kurt's room, because of the bigger bed, so it would be easier on him. I got Finn's old room, which had thankfully been completely cleaned. The bed in his room was new, since Finn took his bed to his apartment.

"Cooper, never be afraid to ask us for anything you need. If you have any pain or discomfort, just let us know." Cooper nodded, thanking Burt and Carol yet again.

Kurt had found his way to Finn's room, where I was unpacking a few things. I was pulling our Margaret Thatcher dog when he came in. "You still have that?"

I jumped and looked up, seeing Kurt softly smiling at the stuffed animal in my arms. I felt a small blush make it's way onto my face and just nodded. I put the animal on my bed next to my pillow. I decided to wait on the pictures until later, settling on pulling out bathroom supplies and closing my bag.

"Listen, we never really talked about the kiss. I don't want us to be at an awkward stand still about all of it." I looked at Kurt and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I don't want that either." I sat down, inviting Kurt to sit too, but he politely declined. "So, what did it mean?"

Kurt looked at me, emotions flicking across his face in quick succession. Finally, he said, "I have never wanted to jump back in more in my life, but I still don't think I'm there yet. I think it would be best to wait until you come to New York. I don't want us to get back together just for long distance to get in the way."

"That's kinda what I was thinking too." My heart sank ever so slightly, but I was okay with what we had come to. Honestly, it was better than I had expected.

Out of no where, Kurt leaned in and gave me a small peck on the lips. For the glorious second his lips were on mine, I was melting from happiness. I loved the feeling of his lips so much.

"I love you, Blaine. I'll see you soon, okay?" I nodded, not wanting him to leave. When he left the room, it felt colder. I visibly shivered, wishing more than anything he would come back, but resigning myself to the fact that I wouldn't be seeing him in person for a while.

"Hey, buddy. You alright?"

I looked up and saw Burt in the doorway. I knew that if I tried to lie to him that he would know instantly, so I shook my head. It was as if everything that had happened came crashing onto my shoulders all at once. I felt like I was carrying a boulder, and no one wanted, or could, help me.

Burt sat down beside me and rubbed his hand in circles on my back. It was so soothing, something I hadn't felt in a while. "How's Cooper doing?"

"Hey, why don't we stop talking about Cooper for a minute and talk about you? The way you've been handling everything that has happened is commendable, but I think you need a break. What's going on in your head, Blaine?"

I swallowed, but it didn't help the lump go away. "I'm just so tired. I'm tired of everything being so wrong. I just want something right to happen for once. It seems like the world just wants to punish me and everyone around me as much as possible."

"I can tell you right now that the world doesn't want to punish you. This is just how life works. There are amazing times and there are horrible times that come from your nightmares. I would love to say there's a way to stop the horrible times from happening, but there isn't. It's a part of life. How you deal with that is how you overcome them to get to the other side." I knew that already. It didn't help the lump go away.

Burt seemed to see that and said, "Carol and I will always be here for you, whether you are dating my son or not. I know that you know that. Kurt will always be here to help you too. I've never seen my son so in love with someone before in my life. His heart is too big to let you suffer on your own. It gets better, kid. I know from experience that it gets so much better."

"Thank you, Burt. It means a lot that you and Carol are so willing to help Cooper." Burt smiled and said, "We're also helping you, whether you know it or not."

I smiled. Burt patted my back twice before getting up and saying, "Well, I have to go take Kurt to the airport. Carol will be here until three, that's when her shift starts at the hospital. The kitchen's open, so take what you want. Make sure Cooper gets some food in him too."

"I will, Burt." Burt left. Once I heard the front door close, I went to Kurt's room. I hesitated at the door, not sure if I could handle entering it right now.

Thankfully, I didn't, because Cooper opened the door. "Woah, hey little brother. I was just going to go downstairs for some food, you want to come?"

"Yeah, that sounds great." I let out a sigh of relief, knowing I didn't have to go back into that room just yet.

We went downstairs and were greeted with Carol finishing up some Mac and Cheese. "Oh, hey boys, I figured you might be a bit hungry, so I made some food for you."

"Thanks, Carol. I'm not sure how much I'll be able to eat, though." Carol just smiled sadly at Cooper, knowing full well the reason. I sat next to Cooper and Carol put plates in front of us. I had a noticeably larger portion than Cooper did, but I wasn't sure even I would be able to eat that much. It covered my entire plate. I just smiled and dug in, immersing myself in the wonderful flavors.

I ended up eating about three fourths of my plate before I felt ready to explode. Cooper managed to eat all of his without feeling the need to make a trip to the bathroom, for which we were all thankful.

"Blaine, when was the last time you made it in to school?" I looked at Carol and drew a blank. How long had it been?

"I'm not sure. Cooper's accident was around a week ago, so I guess that long. I haven't really even thought about school until now." I felt slightly ashamed. Had my father been around, he would not be pleased about this.

"Oh, it's fine sweetie. I was just wondering if you had gone to school or not. If you're up to it, you can start again tomorrow. It's a Friday, so that will be nice." I smiled thankfully at her.

I tried to help her with the dishes, but she swatted me out of the kitchen and into the living room with Cooper. He was flipping through the channels, not really paying that much attention to them.

"Find anything interesting?" He looked at me and shook his head. I sat down next to him and took the now dormant remote. I flipped through some of the channels before settling on one of the many criminal shows.

We sat watching the show for a while, not really talking. At least not until Carol said she had to leave for work. Cooper looked slightly pained as she walked out the door. I gave him a questioning look, but he just shook his head. We sat for at least another hour, changing channels every once in a while.

A sharp knock on the door startled us from the television. Cooper and I looked at each other, not knowing if we should answer and wondering who could be outside. I decided to go answer it when the knock came back two more times.

I looked through the window next to the door and saw a man standing there, looking around Burt's age. Against my gut feeling, I opened the door and asked, "Who are you?"

"I heard through the grapevine that Cooper Anderson is staying here and I was hoping I could talk to him?" I froze, but my acting got me through.

"I'm sorry, you must have the wrong address. No one named Cooper is staying here." I could tell this man wasn't buying it.

"Oh, trust me, I have the correct house. And if my spying skills earlier were correct, I'd say you were his younger brother Blaine. You're gay, right? I bet you've fucked that guy that left earlier a couple hundred time. I'd totally tap that if I was gay." I slammed the door in his face, twisting the lock shut.

I could feel anger pulsing through my veins as I leaned back onto the door and taking steadying breaths in. I suddenly remembered that Cooper was in the living room.

I quickly went in there and stopped dead in my tracks. The same man from earlier was holding my brother up against the wall via his neck.

"Where the fuck is my money? You said you'd have it two weeks ago, but I don't have any money in my hands. Do I really need to kill you? You were such a good fuck, so I can't believe you would actual-"

I plowed into the man's body and forced him to the ground. I heard a thud from behind me and violent coughing, obviously from Cooper. I was currently punching the man with all of the anger I held in my body. I wasn't expecting him to push my off and get on top of me. That was a lie, I should've seen that coming. He was two times my body size.

"Oh, you like it rough, do you? Why don't you tell your brother, Cooper, that I like it when you play rough." I felt a blow to my face as he straddled me. I tried fighting back, but my arms were soon held above my head.

"Get the hell off of him!" The weight was forced off of me, for which I was thankful. It was at this time that I noticed the warm, sticky substance on my face, which was obviously blood. I sat up, my head spinning slightly. I looked over and saw Cooper punching the crap out of the man, his whimpers barely audible over Cooper's shouting.

"I never should have trusted you, Bill! I never should have let you into my life, even if it was falling apart! You used me and I let you! You are a disgusting human who should be put away! I fucking hate you! I don't owe you anything! You owe me MY LIFE!" With a final punch, Cooper sat, panting. The man, Bill, wasn't moving very much. His face had become a bloody mess and he most likely had somewhat of a concussion.

"You alright, Coop?"

He looked over to me and I saw his eyes watering. "Dammit, Blaine. I never wanted you to get hurt. This is my fault. All of this is my fault. I couldn't even defend myself against some asshole like this."

Tears were streaming down his face. I got up and walked over to him, pulling him off of Bill. I pulled Cooper into a hug, ignoring the ache in my face from touching something.

"I'm sorry for causing your life to suck so much. You shouldn't have to take care of your older brother, it should be the other way around." I shook my head as I pulled away from the embrace.

"I'm happy to take care of my brother. You needed some help, so I was here to give it to you. I haven't felt this close to you in years, so maybe this was good in that aspect," I said, glad to have my brother around.

We looked at Bill as a loud groan came from him. I pulled out my phone and called 911, explaining the situation to them as Cooper made sure Bill didn't go anywhere.

When the police got there, they took Bill away. They had him checked out by the ambulance before putting him the the car and driving him away. The checked both Cooper and I, telling me I had not broken my nose, even though it was starting to feel like it.

Burt was called and came home in record time. He gave both of us huge bear hugs, tears in his eyes. He really thought of us as his own children, something we were both incredibly thankful for. He stayed with us for the rest of the day, helping us through the boatloads of questions we were given.

When the police finally left, we were all exhausted. My eyes were beginning to darken underneath due to the punch to my nose, bringing about the teasing via my brother. He looked so much happier already, just because he didn't have to worry about Bill any longer.

I wanted to question why he didn't tell the police about the kind of things Bill did to him, but I couldn't bring myself to. I didn't want to talk about it until he was ready to, no matter how long it would take for that day to come.

Carole came home and fussed over us, letting us choose what we wanted for dinner and let us have ice cream. We sat in the living room, watching a random show after dinner. I sat next to Cooper, feeling my eyelids droop. I was awoken to Cooper gently carrying me upstairs. I decided to just close my eyes and let him be my legs.

I felt him lay me on the bed and put the covers over me. I felt myself nearly drifted off when Cooper said, "I shouldn't have been given such an awesome little brother. I remember when you first came, I was so unbelievably jealous. I didn't want a brother that was going to take all of my spotlight away."

"It was like that for a while, I was always jealous of you. Mom and Dad cooed over you and forgot about me. I had the last baseball game of the season, but they didn't come. I was gushing about it for weeks and Dad said he wouldn't miss it for the world, but he did. I resented you so damn much. I had to get out of that house as soon as I graduated, so I moved to L.A., never looking back."

"At least, it was that way until your attack. Then I realized how much of an ass I had been. You were going through hell and they didn't even cry or seem upset. You were on that hospital bed, so tiny, so vulnerable, and they didn't stay long enough to find out if you were going to be alright. All because you were gay."

A forced laugh came out of his mouth, "They're such assholes. They can't see you as what you are. Even with your heart, that's probably big enough to hold the whole world, they can't see how amazing you are, just because that can't look past something that makes you who you are."

"Even through all the shit that I went through, you were there to help me through. I love you so much, Blaine. You're the best little brother anyone could ever ask for."

I felt him kiss my forehead before quietly leaving the room. I felt tears come to my eyes and jumped out of bed. I went into his room, seeing him just laying down. I walked over and laid down next to him. He jumped, but his eyes softened when he saw who it was.

"There is no way you don't deserve a brother like me."

He pulled me into a hug. We laid like that, in each others arms, but not in an intimate way. The love we had for each other was clearly evident in our embrace, and that love helped us fall asleep, totally content with the horrible things that were still in the world. We were brought back together, even though it was through terrible circumstances. We were together and would be able to help each other through everything.

Our brotherly love had come alive again, and that was enough for now.


End file.
